Death and Spring
by Nanenna
Summary: Death and Spring had met long ago, though they had never become particularly close. Or at all, really. When they are both invited to one of Sun's parties things begin to change, interest blossoms, leading to a kidnapping and a world in upheaval as a result.


Warning: gore/injury (nongraphic), cussing, discussions of death

* * *

The Sun flit about his home, his bright red scarf woven of sunbeams a brightly glowing banner trailing behind him as he made a few last adjustments to the feast laid out on the table. The Moon, as usual, was sitting slumped over the table, his skull pillowed on his arms with snores gently drifting over his head, completely in Sun's way.

"BROTHER! WAKE UP! THE GUESTS WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY."

Moon snorted, then blearily looked up at Sun, "c'mon, bro, i'm usually asleep right about now."

"YOU'RE NEW TONIGHT, YOU CAN NAP THEN."

"alright, alright." Moon yawned and sat up, absently rubbing at a socket. His faded blue robes were rumbled and wrinkled, like always. Sun started fussing at them, tugging at the fabric in the hopes of getting it to at least sit properly on his brother.

"WE HAVE ARRIVED."

"OH!" Sun whirled around and bounded over the table to go greet his first guests of the afternoon. "HELLO WINTER."

Winter was a much shorter skeleton, swathed in frosty blues and icy purples, frost blooming in his footsteps and snowflakes drifting in his wake. "HELLO, SUN," he replied imperiously, then nodded towards the table. "HELLO, MOON."

"hey." Moon waved languidly, not getting up.

Next to Winter another skeleton, this one slightly shorter and resplendent in robes the exact shade of the Summer sky and surrounded with an aura of blazing sunshine, dark green grass sprouting in his footsteps, bounced excitedly in place. "HELLO, SUN!"

"HELLO, SUMMER!" Sun greeted with an especially wide smile, then turned his attention to the two tall skeletons slouching behind Summer and Winter. One was wearing rust colored robes and had a pipe between his teeth, the other in saffron robes and chewing a stem of grass. "HELLO TO YOU AS WELL, AUTUMN AND SPRING! I'M SO GLAD YOU ALL COULD MAKE IT."

"OF COURSE," Winter replied while allowing Sun to usher them towards the heavily laden table. "YOU THROW A FEAST EVERY NEW MOON, AND WE'VE BEEN TO EVERY ONE."

"IT'S THE ONLY DAY MOON DOESN'T HAVE AN EXCUSE TO MISS ONE OF MY GREAT PARTIES," Sun excused, as he always did.

"they are great," Moon agreed placidly.

"OH, ARE THOSE NEW ROBES?" Sun asked as Summer sat down next to Winter.

"YES!" Summer hopped up to twirl around and show off his glittering robes. When he stopped he looked up at Sun and grinned broadly, "SPRING'S ARE NEW TOO, I INSISTED HE WEAR THEM."

"OH! SHOW US THEM, PLEASE!" Sun asked Spring with hands clasped.

"YES, OUR BROTHER PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO MAKING YOU PRESENTABLE. GIVE US A LITTLE TWIRL," Winter ordered.

Spring huffed, but he obligingly put his arms out and slowly spun in place, tiny flowers in pale yellows and soft, rosy pinks, echoed in the embroidery of his new outfit, sprouting and spreading around him. The others all made the appropriate appreciative sounds. When Spring was done he sauntered over to where Autumn had already sat himself down next to Moon and joined them at the table. Spring brushed a few stray, brightly colored, crunchy leaves off the table with a pointed look in Autumn's direction, who very pointedly ignored him.

"YOU DRESSED HIM SO WELL," Sun congratulated.

"YOU REALLY DID," Winter added. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT THE LAYABOUT TO ACTUALLY DRESS NICELY FOR A CHANGE."

"IT WASN'T THAT HARD, I JUST MADE SURE HIS NEW OUTFIT WAS READY TO GO AND SAID HE WOULD MISS OUT ON SUN'S GREAT PARTY IF HE DIDN'T CHANGE."

"you guys make it sound like i didn't choose to get dressed all on my own," Spring whined.

"YOU DID," Summer said soothingly, "AND I'M VERY PROUD OF YOU FOR IT. NOW THEN," Summer turned his attention back to Sun, who hadn't sat yet, "IT'S QUITE UNUSUAL FOR YOU TO HAVE A PARTY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, ARE MILKY WAY AND POLARIS COMING AS WELL?"

"SADLY NO, SOMEONE HAD TO DRIVE THE SUN ACROSS THE SKY IN MY ABSENCE AND MILKY WAY IS SIMPLY THE BEST OPTION. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING! I BARELY KNOW THEM AT ALL!" Sun sighed dramatically, then perked up. "BUT! I DID INVITE A DIFFERENT GUEST! A PAIR OF GUESTS! VERY SPECIAL GUESTS! THEY'RE WHY I TOOK ALL THE TROUBLE TO ARRANGE THIS PARTY WHEN I WOULD USUALLY BE WORKING."

"OH!" Summer bounced in his seat excitedly, "WHO'D YOU INVITE?"

"DEATH!"

The silence that followed Sun's pronouncement was so thick it could have been cut into slices and fried.

"AND DEATH'S BROTHER, SLEEP. WHO DOES MOST OF HIS WORK AT NIGHT. APPARENTLY HE STILL DOES A LOT DURING THE DAY? BUT DEATH WOULDN'T COME WITHOUT HIS BROTHER SO OF COURSE THAT MEANT THE PARTY HAD TO BE DURING THE DAY. IT TOOK QUITE A LOT OF SCHEMING, I CAN TELL YOU! WELL, MOSTLY IT WAS JUST GETTING MILKY WAY TO DRIVE THE CHARIOT FOR THE DAY. POOR DEAR WILL HAVE TO RUN AS SOON AS THE SUN HAS SET FAR ENOUGH FOR ME TO TAKE OVER SO HE CAN MAKE IT TO HIS SPOT IN THE SKY ON TIME. I WONDER IF THERE'S SOMEONE ELSE I CAN FIND ABLE TO AND RELIABLE ENOUGH TO DRIVE MY CHARIOT? IT WOULD BE NICE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A PARTY WITH ALL THE CELESTIAL BODIES IN ATTENDANCE…" Sun stared at the wall for a moment, then shook himself out of whatever thoughts had briefly consumed him. "WELL ANYWAY, I'M VERY EXCITED TO HAVE DEATH AND SLEEP COME TO MY PARTY! THEY'RE VERY EXCLUSIVE, YOU KNOW, THEY HARDLY EVER GO TO ANY SOCIAL EVENTS."

Spring snorted, "they probably don't get invited," he mumbled under his breath. Moon nudged him in the ribs.

Winter nodded approvingly at Sun while Summer looked unsure of how to react. "IT'S VERY KIND OF YOU TO INVITE THEM?" Summer said cautiously.

"YES, OF COURSE ANYONE WOULD BE FLATTERED TO BE INVITED TO ONE OF MY GREAT-"

"we're here."

"BROTHER! HOW RUDE! THE PROPER WAY TO ANNOUNCE YOURSELF IS TO SAY "WE HAVE ARRIVED" LIKE A CIVILIZED MONSTER."

"OH! WELCOME, WELCOME!" Sun bounced over to greet his newest guests.

Death was quite regal in robes black as the grave and a blood red sash hemmed in gold embroidery, a glittering garnet set in delicate gold filigree pinning it in place. Sleep was like a mirror of his brother, his robes were deep red, his sash black as the void and dotted with tiny diamonds that glittered like stars in the night sky, the sash pinned in place by a poppy broach made of rubies and onyx.

"I'M SO GLAD YOU BOTH COULD MAKE IT," Sun said happily as he ushered them towards the others.

"I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING LATE, MY BROTHER WAS DRAGGING HIS FEET."

Sleep didn't seem to mind his brother's slander at all, he stalked right over to Moon's side and flopped down next to him with an exaggerated groan.

"FASHIONABLY LATE," Sun assured.

Winter grinned up at Death and beckoned him to come sit with him. Summer scooted to make room for Death, then squirmed as the newest guest sat down. Sun took the width between Summer and Death as an invitation to sit next to his guest of honor, and if Summer looked relieved everyone had the good grace not to notice.

"NOW THAT EVERYONE'S HERE," Sun said excitedly, "THE FEAST CAN BEGIN!"

Everyone started serving themselves, murmurs of appreciation and anticipation filling the silence.

"I'M SURPRISED YOU DIDN'T INVITE LIFE AND LOVE AS WELL," Death commented before politely taking small, dainty bites of his food. Spring couldn't help finding that fascinating.

"I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE BEST TO KEEP THIS LITTLE SOIREE WELL… LITTLE. I WASN'T SURE WHO YOU GET ALONG WITH BESIDES WINTER AND AUTUMN, I DIDN'T WANT TO… THAT IS… YOU AND LIFE IN THE SAME… WOULDN'T IT BE AWKWARD?"

Sleep snorted derisively while Winter tried to hide his grin by taking another bite.

"WHY SHOULD SEEING MY OLDEST FRIEND BE AWKWARD? I KNOW LOVE CAN BE A BIT MUCH SOMETIMES. OR ALL THE TIME. BUT LIFE IS DELIGHTFUL."

"THAT'S WONDERFUL TO HEAR! I JUST WASN'T SURE SINCE YOU TEND TO… YOU KNOW." Sun waved his hands around vaguely.

Death stiffened and turned a frosty glare that would put even Winter to shame on Sun. "NO. I DON'T KNOW. TELL ME. WHATEVER DO YOU MEAN?"

"JUST THAT AS DEATH YOU TEND TO AH… KILL. THINGS. LIVING THINGS. WHICH ARE LIFE'S CREATIONS. ALL OF THEM, IN FACT."

"I'VE NEVER KILLED A SINGLE THING ONCE IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!" Death said with cold austerity. "MORTALS DO A GOOD ENOUGH JOB OF THAT ON THEIR OWN, I SIMPLY SHOW UP AFTER THEY'VE ALREADY DIED TO COLLECT THEIR SOULS AND GIVE THEM REST. REALLY, WAR AND DISEASE KILL MOST MORTALS, AND THOSE THEY DON'T EVENTUALLY FALL TO FATHER'S HANDS. IF YOU HAVE ANY ISSUES, TAKE THEM UP WITH ANY OF THEM."

There was a moment of shocked silence as everyone but Winter and Sleep stared at Death in horror, to think he had invoked their Father's name!

"NOT THAT I HAVE ISSUES WITH ANY OF THEM, DESPITE HOW MUCH MORE WORK THEY ALWAYS MAKE FOR ME," Death appended on.

"I MAKE MORE WORK FOR YOU," Winter pointed out.

"INDEED, BUT I FIND YOUR COMPANY PLEASANT ENOUGH TO NEARLY MAKE UP FOR IT. BESIDES, I WOULD RATHER KEEP BUSY THAN LAZE ABOUT LIKE MY BROTHER." He added a pointed glare in Sleep's direction.

"hey, i do mosta my work at night, gotta sleep durin' the day if i wanna sleep at all."

"SOME OF US WORK AROUND THE CLOCK AND DON'T BOTHER WITH SOMETHING AS UNNECESSARY AS SLEEP, BROTHER!"

"everyone's gotta sleep eventually, even war brings it in fer the night."

"THAT SHE DOES. SPEAKING OF WAR, SHE WAS IN FINE FORM JUST THE OTHER DAY. THE BATTLEFIELD WAS MASSIVE! I HAD A WHOLE BATTALION OF PSYCHOPOMPS WITH ME JUST TO KEEP UP. BUT MOST INTERESTING WAS WHO THE BATTLE WAS AGAINST: HUMANS. THERE WERE HUMAN GODS AND SPIRITS RUNNING AMOK ALL OVER THE BATTLEFIELD. I HOPED TO SEE A HUMAN PSYCHOPOMP, I'VE BEEN CURIOUS FOR QUITE A WHILE, BUT STRANGELY THERE WEREN'T VERY MANY. OR ANY AT ALL. NOT THAT I SAW. NEAR THE END OF THE BATTLE A HUMAN AND A MONSTER KILLED EACH OTHER, SO AFTER I COLLECTED THE MONSTER'S SOUL I DECIDED TO STAY THERE AND WAIT FOR THE HUMAN PSYCHOPOMP. SO I WAITED, AND WAITED, AND WAITED SOME MORE. IT TOOK UNTIL JUST AFTER DAWN THE NEXT MORNING FOR ONE TO FINALLY SHOW UP! WHEN THEY DID I GAVE THEM A SOUND SCOLDING FOR TAKING SO LONG, AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE HUMAN PSYCHOPOMP HAD THE NERVE TO SAY?" Death paused to look around the table expectantly.

"no bro, not a single clue, please tell us," Sleep said in a monotone.

"HUSH, BROTHER. I ALREADY TOLD YOU THE STORY, NO NEED TO MOCK ME SO. ANYWAY, THEY HAD THE AUDACITY TO SAY THE HUMAN WASN'T QUITE DEAD YET. IT TURNS OUT WHILE I WAS DISTRACTED BY SCOLDING THEM THAT THE HUMAN'S SOUL HAD RETURNED TO THEIR BODY AND THEY GOT UP! RIDICULOUS! WHAT A LAZY, SLIPSHOD WAY TO RUN AN AFTERLIFE! JUST LEAVE SOULS SITTING AROUND LONG ENOUGH TO GET ATTACHED TO THE SCENERY, CLOG UP A LOCAL LEY LINE OR TWO, OR MAYBE JUST GET BACK INTO THEIR DEAD BODY AND GET UP!"

"IS THAT WHY THEY LEAVE BODIES BEHIND?" Winter asked incredulously.

"IT'S VERY LIKELY, I'M NOT SURE WHAT ELSE IT COULD BE."

Everyone else at the table looked vaguely ill. Moon nudged the arm Sleep had wedged up against his side. "what?"

Moon's pips darted back and forth between Sleep and the rest of the table, one brow raised.

"what?" Sleep whined.

Moon sighed, "c'mon, pal, throw us a bone here."

"whatever." Sleep rolled his eye pips, then turned his attention fully on Death, "hey bro, didn't ya have some new traps ya wanted to tell winter an' autumn 'bout?"

"TRAPS?" Sun asked skeptically.

"OH YES! THANK YOU FOR THE REMINDER, BROTHER. TOO MANY MORTALS WANDER DOWN TO THE UNDERGROUND LOOKING FOR THE SOUL OF A DEAD LOVED ONE. DESPITE THE FACT THEY'RE TRESPASSING I'M TECHNICALLY NOT ALLOWED TO JUST KILL THEM, SO I FIND WAYS TO DELAY OR STOP THEM ALTOGETHER THEN GATHER THEM UP TO SEND BACK TO THE SURFACE. WHERE THEY BELONG."

"OH! SO LIKE PUZZLES?" Sun asked excitedly.

"YES, YES," Winter said dismissively, "BUT WHAT ARE THESE NEW ONES? DID YOU ACTUALLY GET THAT COLOR CHANGING ONE FROM INNOVATION?"

The conversation moved on then, Death, Winter, and Sun eagerly discussing Death's new traps. Summer commented on the importance and history of puzzles among monsters before lapsing into silence, then turning his attention to the others. When the conversation meandered from the placement and general types of traps to the mechanics and inner workings of the devices, Winter dragged Autumn into it to help explain some of the finer points to him. Spring found himself drawn in as well, he found building gadgets to be an interesting, low energy hobby that even Summer couldn't find fault with.

But somehow, despite how much he usually enjoyed discussing materials, tools, and the latest forging techniques, Death was what really captured Spring's interest. He'd never realized what an utter nerd he was! The way he waved his hands while rambling about a new alloy mortals were developing, how his pips sparkled while eagerly describing his latest trap, the fact he had parchment and quill he pulled from his robes when simply describing them wasn't enough! It was… kind of cute.

There was a thought Spring never thought he'd have: Death was kind of cute. And yet the longer he sat there and watched Death gesture wildly (only not hitting Winter because of his short stature, poor Sun had to dodge his swinging arms) while talking about how his guard blaster beast (named Snuffles. Snuffles! How cute was that?) had found a monster dangling from a trap and played with them like a cat with a mouse (and Death would know because he had a pet cat… named Doomfanger. Too cute), the more Spring realized it was true. Death was adorable! Nothing but a huge nerd who liked making and solving puzzles, had pets with dorky names, and above all seemed genuinely excited to be invited to Sun's little dinner party.

Probably the first time he'd been invited to one. Ever.

Now there was a sobering thought. Sun had called him exclusive, but the truth was that probably he just didn't get invited very often. Death wasn't exactly popular, not like Wine or Music were. And if he really refused to go to any events without Sleep, who worked at night, and most parties were evening affairs… well maybe they'd just have to do something about that. Afternoon socials were a thing, and surely he'd make an exception for a big bash like the solstices and equinoxes.

"BROTHER! BROTHER!"

Spring's musings were cut short by Summer waving and patting the table while whisper shouting across the table at Spring. "yeah?" Spring sat up a little straighter, glancing at Moon and Sleep as he did so. The pair were both asleep, skulls pillowed on their arms and pressed up against each other. And they were the only ones besides Summer not interested in puzzles and machines.

"BROTHER, DON'T YOU HAVE DUTIES TO ATTEND TO?"

Spring couldn't help raising a brow at that, it was mid Autumn right now, the opposite time of year from his duties. Judging from how chilly it was getting Winter was already intruding, eager for his season to get started. But Spring decided to give Summer the easy out he was asking for. "not really, but i do have plants to hang out with medicine soon."

"OH, YOU'RE LEAVING SO SOON?" Sun looked quite disappointed.

"yeah," Spring drawled out slowly as he climbed to his feet.

Summer bounced to his own feet, "SADLY YES. BUT WE HAD A LOVELY TIME! WE MUST DO THIS AGAIN."

"OF COURSE!" Sun agreed readily.

Everyone but Sleep and Moon (who were still asleep) stood up to say goodbye to Summer and Spring. During the shuffling and promises to see each other at Justice's next Friendship Feast or to see each other at home later, Spring held his hand out to Death, "it was good to hang with you for a while."

Death hesitantly took his hand, then smiled brightly as Spring shook hands with him. "YES, IT'S RARE FOR US TO SPEND ANY TIME TOGETHER."

"we should fix that, no reason for us not to be friends."

"I'D LIKE THAT." He paused, as if searching carefully for his next words, "YOU'RE WELCOME TO COME VISIT THE UNDERGROUND WHENEVER YOU LIKE."

"i'll hold you to it," Spring replied with a wink.

"BROTHER! STOP DRAGGING YOUR FEET! IT'S RUDE TO JUST HANG AROUND AFTER ALREADY SAYING GOODBYE."

"coming, bro."

* * *

"DEATH'S FUCKIN' MISSIN'!"

Sleep's frantic shout startled the many gods lounging about on Mt. Ebott. Among the gods was Summer, until that moment happily chatting with is friend, Law.

"W-what do you mean?!" Law asked, her buttery yellow scales paling.

"i mean my bro's just up an' gone!"

"ARE YOU SURE?" Summer asked carefully.

"yes i'm sure, he ain't anywhere in the mortal realm."

"PERHAPS HE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE UNDERGROUND? THAT IS HIS REALM."

"not this time-a year, everythin's gettin' ready to die or sleep fer the Winter, we're too busy to sit 'round on our asses."

"Th-then he's got to be in the mortal realm somewhere, you know what a workaholic D-Death is," Law said with a chuckle.

"look at the mortal realm an' tell me he ain't missin'." Sleep growled as he pointed angrily down the mountain.

Summer and Law got up to go look, other nearby gods who had been watching the spectacle also curiously crowded to the edge to look down upon the mortal realm. Summer gazed down passively, not seeing anything amiss at first. Then he spotted a confused monster staring at a freshly slaughtered pig wandering around its pen despite its head still sitting on the chopping block. Summer felt a bit squeamish at the site and averted his gaze, a battle caught his eye. A battle slowly coming to a halt as soldiers looked down at their cracked, broken souls and yet weren't dust. And over there, a traveler that had fallen into a ravine and lay groaning in pain, a monster stabbed through with a weapon and still standing, a deer riddled with arrows and yet fleeing the hunters, everywhere Summer looked he saw mortal wounds and yet no Death followed.

"Oh g-g-g-goodness!" Law gasped and covered her muzzle as she stared down at the scenes in horror. Then she turned and ran, bellowing for Justice at the top of her lungs.

"WE'LL FIND HIM," Summer turned to Sleep to assure him.

"NGAHHH! What the HELL is going on?!" War stormed on Mt. Ebott, her missing eye sparking in rage. "All the battles stopped, no one wants to fight when no one fucking DIES! Where's Death?! I'll kick his bony ass!"

"he's missin'!"

"WHAT?!" War rounded on Sleep in angry shock.

"NGAHHHH!" Justice stomped over, a spear already in her hands, Law on her heels. "What's this about Death missing?!"

"He's missing and nobody's dying so nobody wants to wage War! It's awful!"

"We'll just have to find him!" Justice bellowed as she pointed her spear at the mortal realm. Then with a whoop she took off running down the mountain. War gave a nearly identical whoop and took off after her.

"Let's organize some search p-parties," Law barked.

"I'LL HELP LOOK IN THE UNDERGROUND," Summer volunteered.

"i already tolja he ain't down there!"

"WE HAVE TO BE THOROUGH, AND THAT INCLUDES SEARCHING THE UNDERGROUND. YOU KNOW IT BETTER THAN ANY OF US SO YOU'LL HAVE TO LEAD WHATEVER SEARCH TEAM GOES DOWN THERE."

Sleep grumbled and crossed his arms, but didn't offer any other resistance. Once they realized no one else was going to volunteer, Sleep took Summer down into the Underground. The very first thing Summer noticed was a deep, rumbling wail that rose and waned unsteadily.

"WHAT'S THAT?"

"s'jus' snuffles, he's pretty upset."

"SNUFFLES? OH! YOUR BROTHER TOLD US ABOUT HIM AT THAT PARTY. HIS PET DOG, RIGHT?"

"snuffles ain't a dog an' he ain't a pet!" Sleep spat out like the words tasted foul on his tongue. He huffed and stomped over to the gate leading down into the Underground proper, where Snuffles was sitting miserably, each of his three heads independently yowling out of time with each other.

Sleep walked up to the bone beast and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, the highest he could reach. "we'll find him."

"CAN SNUFFLES SNIFF DEATH OUT?" Summer asked excitedly.

"what?"

"CAN HE TRACK DEATH DOWN? HE SHOULD KNOW HIS SCENT PRETTY WELL ALREADY, RIGHT?"

"no, he can't track death down!" Sleep sniffed disdainfully. "fer one he already would've by now; fer 'nother i already tolja he ain't a dog, least of all a bloody blood hound. ya may as well ask if doomfanger can track him down."

"WELL?"

"what?"

"CAN DOOMFANGER TRACK DEATH DOWN?"

Sleep stared at Summer blankly, Summer patiently and excitedly stared back. "akchully, that might jus' work." Sleep let Snuffles go and started walking through the gate without another word. Summer ran to catch up, Snuffles following behind with his tail tucked up under his bony body. Sleep led them into a grand mansion, quickly passing through rooms and hallways without a second glance. Eventually Sleep barged through what had been a closed door, Summer paused at the threshold to look in before following. It was a bedroom, sparsely furnished. There was a very long bed made with military precision, a chest at its foot, a wardrobe, a shelf full of scrolls, a writing desk, and a table with a map and several wooden figures spread over it. Everything in the room was very simply made, all harsh lines and utilitarian clasps, not a knickknack in sight. In short, it was very Spartan.

Sleep was digging around in a small trunk Summer hadn't noticed next to the wardrobe. He came out holding a sandal, a few other sandals, boots, and greaves spilling onto the floor next to him. He ignored them in favor of stalking back out of the room, forcing Summer to back out and right into Snuffles. The bony beast sniffed the sandal in Sleep's hand, then gave out a piteous whine. Sleep shoved him out of his way and continued back up the hall.

"WHAT ARE WE DOING?" Summer asked as he watched Sleep peer into yet another empty room, look around, make a disgruntled noise, and move on.

"tryin' out yer idea."

"OKAY?" Summer couldn't help being confused.

"there ya are!" Sleep stalked angrily into the room and up to a ball of white fluff left on a settee. Sleep held up the sandal to the ball of fluff. "'ere, do me a favor an' go track down the boss."

The ball of fluff shifted and uncurled to reveal a cat's yawning face and outstretched legs. Summer grinned as he realized this must be Doomfanger! The cat gave himself a few rough licks, then turned his face to delicately sniff at the sandal. After a moment he stood up, arched his back, then curled back up again in the opposite direction.

"c'mon!" Sleep growled in exasperation. "if ya do it, i'll give ya tuna fer a week."

Doomfanger regarded the two skeletons and bone beast through narrow eyes, ears twitching. He stood back up, stretched back, then forward, then hopped down from the settee to saunter slowly out of the room.

"WELL," Summer sighed, "IT WAS WORTH A TRY."

Sleep was already disappearing out the doorway. Summer darted after him to find Sleep standing stock still in the hallway, watching Doomfanger sniffing daintily over the floor.

"WAIT, IS THE CAT REALLY TRYING TO TRACK DOWN DEATH?"

Sleep shrugged, "maybe. he's a good hunter though, so if ma bro's down here doomy'll find him."

"AND IF HE ISN'T?"

"then this whole thing's a wild goose chase no matter how we search for him."

Before Summer could respond Snuffles took that moment to remind them he was still there and very much in need of comfort for all the trauma he'd been through in the last few hours. With a whine one of Snuffles's heads plopped onto Sleep's shoulder, another shoved itself under Summer's arm, the third grumbled as he looked back and forth between the two gods before throwing himself back to yowl. Sleep absently patted the blaster beast's head, but quickly abandoned him to keep following Doomfanger.

Their entire search of the Underground went much the same way, Doomfanger leading them in random directions, circling back, winding through thorn thickets, under tables, or along precarious ledges as he sniffed his way through the Underground. Sleep kept his distance the whole time, silently following the cat even as he refused to take his pips off him, not even to answer questions of the shades or various death spirits milling about in confusion. Summer spent more time trying to keep Snuffles from tripping him in his need for comfort than actually paying attention to his surroundings. He did manage to push the clinging blaster beast off him long enough to get a good look at a seemingly bottomless pit full of darkness and loud, unpleasant sounds. This seemed to distress Snuffles as one of his heads picked Summer up and carried him for the rest of the search.

Eventually their strange parade ended when Doomfanger crawled under a bush Summer was fairly certain they had already looked under, curled up, and closed his eyes. Not that the others knew the search was over, they all stood around staring at the bush for several long, tense, silent minutes.

"SO UH… DOES THIS MEAN DEATH ISN'T DOWN HERE?" Summer asked timidly.

"it means doomy here ain't gettin' any tuna since he didn't find boss."

Doomfanger huffed and glared at Sleep, Summer didn't think that was an omen of good health for Sleep.

"ALRIGHT, IF HE'S NOT DOWN HERE AND WE'RE VERY, VERY SURE OF THAT," Summer paused to look at Sleep, who rolled his eye pips and nodded with a huff of his own, "THEN WE SHOULD HEAD BACK UP TO THE SURFACE AND SEE ABOUT JOINING IN THE SEARCH UP THERE. OH! I KNOW! WE CAN ASK SUN AND MOON, THEY MUST SEE EVERYTHING FROM UP IN THE SKY!"

"yeah, sure, let's git goin'."

It took some convincing and a lot of griping from Sleep to get Snuffles to stay at the gate to the Underground, though Summer is pretty sure it was more Sleep's promise of giving Snuffles a whole roast when he came back that had him staying behind, but eventually they made it back to the Surface. The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon and only the afterglow was left, stars already lighting up the eastern skies.

"OH, I SUPPOSE THAT MEANS YOU HAVE WORK TO DO."

"yeah no, fuck that."

"WHAT?" Summer asked in confusion, blinking heavily as he looked over at Sleep.

"i ain't gonna stop until we find my bro."

"BUT… YOUR JOB… THE MORTALS… DON'T THEY GET SICK IF THEY DON'T SLEEP FOR LONG ENOUGH?"

"then they better hope we find him soon. besides, what's the worst that can happen? they DIE from not sleeping?"

Summer paused as he thought that over, "I SUPPOSE NOT… AT LEAST NOT UNTIL WE FIND DEATH."

"then it'll be fine until then."

"ALRIGHT," Summer agreed hesitantly. "LET'S GO FIND LAW OR JUSTICE, SEE HOW THEIR SEARCH IS GOING. THE BEST PLACE TO START WOULD PROBABLY BE EBOTT."

"fine, let's go."

On the mountain's top they found Law in the middle of the courtyard, standing on something hidden by the crowd she was shouting over. Sleep growled and elbowed his way to the front, Summer apologizing as he followed in his wake.

"… and remember, we go in pairs. W-we don't know w-what kidnapped Death, but whatever it was we d-don't want to be caught alone with it. You'll be check-"

"law!"

"What?!" Law barked angrily. "Oh, Sleep! There you are!"

Now at the edge of the crowd, Summer could see that Law was standing on a table, several maps rolled out around her feet, Strategy sitting hunched over the table moving various knick knacks around while Innovation was curled up practically under the table, a tablet with papers on it in one hand and a quill in the other.

Sleep pressed against the edge of the table as he glowered up at Law, "he ain't in the underground."

"The Underground?" Law asked with her head tilted at a confused angle. Then she brightened up, "Oh! R-right, you went to muh-make sure he isn't there."

"you guys still searchin'?"

"Yeah, haven't found a t-trace of him so far." Law scowled in disgust, "W-we're just assigning more search parties now. D-don't worry, we'll find him!"

"W-wanna help search?"

Sleep's glare fell from Law to Strategy, looking up from where she presided over the splay of maps. Strategy grinned crookedly at Sleep, "Well? Th-the whole world is a lot of ground to cover."

"a'ight, where'm i goin'?"

Law shifted and pointed out at the crowd, "I was about to assign a partner for Melodrama-"

"not him," Sleep interrupted.

"Well I can't partner him with Drama!" Law threw her hands up in the air.

"not my problem."

"Jerry?" Strategy offered.

"are you fuckin' serious?"

"HELLO! WHAT'S THE NEWS?"

"sun, thank the stars!" Sleep elbowed his way back through the crowd to where Sun was politely standing at the edge. Most of the gods wisely moved out of the way this time. "sun! didja find him?!"

"NO, SADLY, I DIDN'T SEE HIM."

"fuck!" Sleep stomped his foot and ground his teeth, fists clenched tightly at his sides.

Sun clapped a hand down on his shoulder and held on tight, "DON'T GIVE UP, WE'LL FIND HIM."

"if ya couldn't find him from up there what chance do we got runnin' 'round like a buncha headless chickens?"

"FOR ONE I DIDN'T REALLY START LOOKING UNTIL LATE IN THE DAY, THAT'S A WHOLE LOT OF GROUND I DIDN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION TO EARLIER! FOR ANOTHER THERE'S STILL A LOT TO MISS. I CAN'T SEE THROUGH TREES OR BUILDINGS, AND EVEN IF I COULD PEOPLE AREN'T REALLY EASY TO SPOT FROM SO HIGH UP."

"waddya mean? ya got a bird's eye view."

"YES, AND FROM A BIRD'S EYE MOST PEOPLE ARE THE SIZE OF ANTS! HONESTLY, I CAN'T EVEN TELL ONE MORTAL FROM ANOTHER ONCE I'VE GOTTEN TO CRUISING HEIGHT."

"Sun's right," Strategy cut in before Sleep could retort. "And he also said h-he can't see through buildings and trees, so a ground search it is."

"MOON AND I HAVE AGREED TO KEEP SEARCHING WHILE WE'RE UP THERE, THE STARS TOO. NO ONE'S GIVING UP UNTIL YOUR BROTHER IS FOUND AND SAFELY HOME!"

There were a few murmurs of agreement and reassurance from the crowd.

"okay… yeah, okay. let's get this shitshow on the road."

* * *

The morning brought a surprise they surely should have expected: the light of dawn touched not trees with a few stubborn gold and rust leaves clinging to half naked branches, but on trees full to bursting with brightly colored buds just opening to show soft, new leaves and young flowers. The chilly frost from the evening before had melted into sweet morning dew, freshly sprouted snowdrops and daffodils sprinkled liberally between the green trees.

Winter had been furious, he ranted and raved about Spring usurping Autumn's season _right before_ it was Winter's turn. It had taken Summer and Autumn working together to calm Winter down, both explaining over and over that it wasn't Spring's fault, that without Death there could be no dying leaves to change color and fall from the trees, that without Sleep there could be no winter hibernation for the animals, that when Death was found and restored surely the seasons would return to their proper cycle.

"BESIDES," Summer added as Winter continued to grouse with crossed arms, "YOU KNOW HOW MUCH SPRING HATES WORK, HE WOULDN'T MAKE MORE FOR HIMSELF THAN HE HAS TO."

"I THINK I'M MOSTLY TO BLAME," Life said sheepishly, having been assigned as Summer's search partner he was an unfortunate witness to the entire argument.

"THIS IS NO MORE YOUR FAULT THAN SPRING'S," Summer insisted. "WITHOUT DEATH OF COURSE LIFE WOULD GROW OUT OF CONTROL, YOU CAN'T HELP THE CYCLE BEING UNBALANCED."

"WHERE IS SPRING ANYWAY?" Winter asked with a huff. Life sent him a quick smile in gratitude for the change in subject.

"I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM," Summer admitted, "BUT I'M SURE HE'S HELPING SEARCH! EVERYONE IS."

"we should probably get back to it ourselves," Autumn drawled around his pipe.

"YES," Winter agreed, "THE SOONER WE FIND DEATH THE SOONER THINGS CAN GO BACK TO THEIR NATURAL ORDER."

Back to searching they went, asking every minor god and nature spirit they came across if they had seen Death or knew what happened to him. No one had, though all promised to search within their domains and go to Law with anything they found. Hours dragged into days, days dragged into nearly a week, and yet no sign of Death had been found. Summer couldn't help wondering where Spring was, somehow none of the brothers had seen him once during the search. If he were missing like Death surely they would notice, right? Surely the animals and flowers wouldn't be flourishing the way they were. Surely strawberries, rhubarbs, and peas wouldn't be so abundant.

Spring had to be fine, but he didn't seem to be searching with the others either. Summer's patience wore thin, nearly a week with little rest and no Sleep would do that to anyone. Summer was so, so weary. Everyone was so weary. If Spring was lounging around being lazy while the entire pantheon wore themselves out searching Summer would… Summer would… be very disappointed in him!

Still, Summer could use a break. He thought of his house, of cooking himself a little treat and sitting down to a well earned meal with a spring cooled drink. It wouldn't hurt to rest for a little while, he'd even be all the better for it when he got back. Plus he was fairly certain no one had actually looked in the Seasons' homes yet. He doubted they needed to, but it wouldn't hurt to be absolutely thorough. And if he found Spring in his own home? Well, all the better for giving him a firm scolding.

Mind made up, Summer breathed out a sigh of relief and let the others know he was taking a short break. No one begrudged him, Life seemed relieved at the chance to take a break himself. That taken care of, Summer set off for the small section of the godly realm in which their homes lay.

Deep in an isolated wood lay a series of clearings, a winding path meandering through each meadow and the thick woods around them. Summer pushed branches bare save for a few limp red leaves out of his face as he entered the first clearing. It was ringed by trees heavy with wrinkled apples and pears rotting on the branch, curling dry grape fines clinging to the trunks, their own overripe fruit having fallen to the ground and burst open in a fetid mess. The clearing itself was thinly covered with wheat, the stalks dry and withered, the hard ground visible through the sparse grass littered with piles of more dull, dead leaves and wind blown branches that were liable to trip anyone who strayed off the winding path. Tucked away at the edge of the clearing was a rustic little log cabin with a wisp of smoke trailing eternally up from the chimney, on either side were frost bitten gardens with trailing vines of sunken in squash, limp sweet potato plants, and large, sagging pumpkins.

"AUTUMN MUST BE COMPLETELY WORN OUT," Summer thought to himself as he hurried through. He would have to nag Winter about letting him have a break his after he was done with his own.

The next clearing was ringed by barren trees clawing at the sky and dark, brooding evergreens, both of whose branches creaked and groaned under the onslaught of furious winter winds. A storm raged through the whole clearing, throwing sleet and hail into Summer's face. Only the path, magical as it was, kept him from being thrown bodily by the freezing winds into the deep piles of snow that hid all other details of the clearing from sight. Sitting proudly on one side of the thin path, in the very center of the storm, was a large mansion constructed purely of ice.

Summer grunted as he pushed through the storm. "WINTER MUST STILL BE FURIOUS," he thought to himself. Well, nothing for that but finding Death.

The third clearing was ringed by trees that were a riot of bright leaves and even brighter flowers, petals raining down like a snow flurry. From between the trunks and among the thick underbrush echoed animal grunts and groans that could barely be heard over the continual racket of birds screeching. The field itself was overgrown with grass up past Summer's waist, more flowers of every color and design dotted liberally through the whole of it. Just off the path was a quaint little whitewashed cottage. The normally well tended flower garden was completely overgrown, climbing up the side of the cottage, spilling over the edge of its knee high stone fence, completely obscuring the stone path down its center, and hanging down from the trellis over the gate so thickly it formed a curtain Summer had to part to pass through. The air was so thick with the scent of so many different flowers he felt dizzy and ill.

Summer almost reconsidered trying to fight his way through the garden, but there was a thin trail of smoke from the chimney and all the shutters, usually left open by the nature spirits that tended to their homes to let gentle Spring breezes through, were closed tightly.

"IF HE'S ACTUALLY HERE, I WILL BE VERY UPSET WITH HIM," Summer grumbled to himself before wading through the garden. He knocked briskly on the door and called out, "SPRING? ARE YOU HERE?"

"OH THANK GOD, HELP!"

Summer paused, that wasn't his brother's voice. He opened the door and stepped into the entry way, clinging to the door as he peered into the little sitting room just past the coat closet next to the door. The sitting room itself was empty, but in the kitchen, sitting at the table, were Spring (waving languidly at Summer in greeting) and Death himself.

Death was sitting at Spring's kitchen table.

Summer blinked slowly as he took in the scene before him: Death and Spring both looking at him expectantly, each with a steaming tea cup before them, a plate of dainty pastries between them. Death was sitting in a chair absolutely wrapped in clinging vines, scowling mightily at Summer.

"HOLY SHIT, HE'S BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME?" Summer asked in disbelief.

Spring snorted and laughed, "wow bro, don't think i've ever heard you cuss before."

Summer stumbled in and motioned at the chair full of vines, apparently to keep Death trapped here? "BROTHER, WHAT IS DEATH DOING HERE?"

"wow, rude. he's an honored guest, of course."

"HE KIDNAPPED ME AND IS KEEPING ME PRISONER. AGAINST MY WILL."

Spring made a dismissive noise and flapped a hand at Death, "i told you to think of it as a vacation. you're so tense, you need to learn to chill every once in a while."

"BROTHER! YOU NEED TO LET HIM GO RIGHT NOW!"

"he hasn't even touched his tea yet."

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND," Summer said frantically, running over to Spring's side to wave his arms wildly. "THE MORTALS AREN'T DYING, THE SEASONS AREN'T CHANGING, SLEEP IS FRANTIC! NO ONE'S BEEN ABLE TO SO MUCH AS DOZE SINCE DEATH WENT MISSING."

"huh… that explains why the naps failed."

"THE WORLD IS OUT OF BALANCE," Death said solemnly.

"WE'VE ALL BEEN WORRIED SICK AND SEARCHING ALL OVER THE WORLD TO FIND HIM."

"shit."

Death uncrossed his arms just so he could cross them the other way and double down his glare at Spring.

The vines encasing his lower half all relaxed and slipped off Death, retracted back into the ground and leaving the hard wood floor pristine and unblemished. "sorry, i didn't realize."

"I'M SURE I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE YOU'LL BE APOLOGIZING TO," Death said frostily as he stood and brushed himself off. He made a swirling motion with one hand, an hourglass appeared and he glared down into it. "TSK, WHAT A MESS. IT'S GOING TO TAKE QUITE A WHILE TO CLEAN UP."

Spring looked thoroughly ashamed, "sorry."

It wasn't Summer's place to forgive or absolve Spring, but he almost told him that it was all okay, that he didn't mean to and everything would be fine now. Perhaps it would, Summer certainly hoped so.

"WELL IT'S BEEN… _INTERESTING_," Death said, dismissing the hourglass. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR… HOSPITALITY. I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN."

"what? really?" Spring looked up at Death, his jaw gaping in surprise.

"YOU MEAN THAT?" Summer asked, equally surprised.

"OF COURSE," Death replied, brows furrowed in confusion. "YOU'RE STILL INVITED TO COME VISIT THE UNDERGROUND TOO, OF COURSE. WHENEVER YOU WISH. I DON'T RECOMMEND DOING SO IN THE NEAR FUTURE, ESPECIALLY NOT DURING THE DAY AS I'M QUITE SURE SLEEP WILL NOT BE HAPPY WITH YOU."

Spring laughed nervously, "what's he going to do? shank me?"

"BROTHER!"

"NO, BUT HE MIGHT DECIDE TO LEAVE YOU IN A COMA THREE SEASONS OUT OF FOUR."

Spring winced, then turned thoughtful. "a nine month nap actually sounds like it'd be pretty good."

"YOU'D WAKE UP GROGGY, LOST, AND WITH A HEADACHE," Summer said in exasperation. "JUST LIKE YOU DO EVERY TIME YOU SAY "JUST FIVE MORE MINUTES" AND ROLL OVER."

Death cleared his throat. "I REALLY SHOULD BE GOING NOW, UNTIL NEXT TIME."

"I'LL WALK YOU OUT," Summer offered quickly before bustling Death out the door and on his way. He came back to find Spring tidying up his kitchen, something he'd never seen the other do before. "WHAT HAPPENED? WHEN? HOW? **WHY**?!"

"you know, underneath that dreary, stick-up-his-butt exterior death is actually a pretty nice guy. nerdy as all get out, but in this kind of dorky way. plus i dunno, he just seems pretty lonely to me, don't you think?"

Summer was about to retort that not only did that not answer his question, but it wasn't even true! But then he remembered how excited Death had been to be at Sun's dinner party not too long ago, and how he hadn't been invited ever before. How no one but Sleep had noticed he was missing at first, how everyone had only started searching because War and Justice were upset. How Death was one of the oldest of them and yet barely anyone seemed to know anything about him. How he had thanked Spring for his good intentions and invited him to come visit.

Summer drooped, "MAYBE, I DON'T REALLY KNOW HIM ALL THAT WELL."

"i suppose that he can't really go on vacation though, not if things went as haywire as you said they did."

"YEAH…" Summer drooped more, stars he was tired. "BUT YOU CAN STILL VISIT HIM AND BE FRIENDS, TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF VACATION TO HIM."

Spring seemed to cheer up at the suggestion, "yeah, that's true."

"MAYBE WAIT UNTIL SLEEP CALMS DOWN THOUGH."

"yeah, he's one of those quiet, seething angry types. the most dangerous kind."

"C'MON, LET'S GO TO MY HOUSE! IT'LL BE SAFER THAN LETTING SLEEP COME FIND YOU HERE. AND IT'S WAAAAAAAAAAY COOLER THAN YOUR HOUSE."

"you do have the coolest house, bro." Spring let himself be pulled along by Summer, the shorter chatting happily the whole way about all the little ways Spring could brighten up Death's life once everything settled back down, Spring smiling the whole way.


End file.
